


A Rosebud and a Cup of Black Coffee

by starlitsequins



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, how did this get 300 kudos so quickly, i dont understand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:11:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10070912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlitsequins/pseuds/starlitsequins
Summary: “He doesn’t like me,” Yuuri said evasively, shifting under their attention. “He’s just nice.”Phichit threw Leo and Guang-hong anare-you-kidding-me???look. “Am I hearing this correctly?” he asked. “Did Katsuki Yuuri seriously say Viktor Nikiforov isn’t in love with him? This is even worse than the time JJ came into the cafe and asked for a mocha frappucino.”“Yuuri,” Guang-hong said. “Literally everyone agrees that he likes you. Even Seung-gil, and he acts like he has no emotion at all.”“I don’t know,” Yuuri said uncertainly.“You get roses,” Phichit said flatly. “For.Free."





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magicranberries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicranberries/gifts).



Yuuri had always loved the smell of coffee, rich and sweet and bitter. So perhaps it was fitting he worked at a coffee shop, where the aroma would cling to his clothes and a hot cup would be free every day. It wasn’t a bad job, and he would be lying if he wasn’t attached to it, finding it to have a firm place in his heart.

The coffee shop that day was bustling with customers, an unusual sight for one nestled at the corner of the street, looked over by most. When there was a lull in customers, Phichit leaned against the counter, an eyebrow raised at Yuuri.

“Busy day, huh?” he asked, and Yuuri half-expected him to snap a selfie right then and there.

“Yeah,” Yuuri replied, staring out at the people. “Why do you think that is?”

Phichit laughed. “”Cause we serve _the best_ coffee in the city, of course!” He slung an arm around Yuuri, pulling him in close and _then_ taking a selfie. Yuuri shook his head at Phichit affectionately as he quickly uploaded the picture to Instagram.

“Obsessed,” Yuuri said and Phichit stuck his tongue out at him, lacklusterly throwing a handful of coffee beans in his face.

“Who’s the coffee master here?” he challenged Yuuri.

“Who’s the pastry master here?” Yuuri shot back, laughing as Phichit eyed the desserts set up on display and raising his hands in defeat.

“Fine, fine, you win,” Phichit joked. “It’s almost Leo and Guang-hong’s shift anyway,” he added, checking his watch. “They’re going to hate having to deal with all these customers.”

“Probably because they won’t have any time to stare into each other’s eyes,” Yuuri muttered and Phichit sighed.

“True,” he agreed. “Those two need to _chill_.”

He paused as the door swung open and a man walked in. He was heart-achingly good looking, with windswept silver hair and blue eyes. He caught Yuuri’s eye and smiled, the corners of his lips twitching upwards.

“You take him,” Yuuri said, because he was smart enough to know not to fall in love for a guy he met at a coffee shop.

And Phichit was smart enough to know exactly what he was doing, because he threw Yuuri a shit-eating smile and said sweetly, “Why don’t you take his order? I need to go check on the cookies in the oven.” They had no cookies in the oven, but, Yuuri, being the nice person he was, sighed and agreed.

The man was at the counter now and Yuuri cleared his throat. “What can I get you?” he asked.

The man scanned the menu. “I’ll have a medium coffee, black, and a chocolate croissant,” he said. Yuuri nodded, telling himself to _breathe_ , and grabbed a cup, taking out a sharpie and fiddling with it.

“Name?” Yuuri asked.

“Viktor,” he replied. “And that’s Viktor with a _k_ , not a _c_ , because I’m Russian. Moved here a few months ago.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said, scrawling down the name, thinking that that was a bunch of useless information he had just dumped on him. 

The man—Viktor—smiled charmingly. “Thank you!” he chirped, whirling away to sit down.

After Yuuri had prepared the coffee and pastry he called Viktor’s name, who sprang up to take it, sitting down and scribbling notes on a notebook.

“Think he’s a writer?” Phichit asked. 

Yuuri shrugged. “Maybe. That sounds like too much of a cliche, though, doesn’t it?”

“Mmm, yeah,” Phichit agreed. “ _Lonely barista falls in love with freelance writer_. Sounds like a new YA romance novel.” 

“Hey!” Yuuri said. “I’m not _in love_ with him!”

Phichit held up his hands. “I’m not the one who was staring at him!”

Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut again when Viktor stood up, tossing away the coffee cup in his hand. He moved to walk out the door, but paused to turn back to look at Yuuri and throw a wink at him, before leaving.

Yuuri didn’t even need to look at Phichit to know he was grinning.

* * *

“So is that coffee shop good?” Mila asked, organizing a bouquet of flowers. Yuri and Georgi were on the other side of the flower shop, unpacking flowers. Viktor was on the ground, flowers spread out around him, expertly weaving a flower crown for all workers of the flower shop.

“It was excellent,” Viktor said. “Great coffee, great pastries...totally would recommend it. There was a nice atmosphere too.” He waved his notebook. “I wrote down our next orders so we can start them as soon as possible.”

“Mmm,” Mila said. She pulled out dahlia and tossed it over to Viktor. “Here, use this in Yuri’s.”

Viktor caught it, turning the flower over in his hand, and, satisfied with how it looked, began to add it to Yuri’s flower crown.

“Hey,” Yuri complained, setting down a line of hens and chicks, small succulents ranging in colors of blue-gray to green. “I don’t want a pink flower crown!”

“It’d suit you,” Georgi said, and Mila nodded in agreement. “You’re totally a pink sort of guy.”

Yuri huffed, looking annoyed, and would’ve slammed down the succulents out of anger if they weren’t his favorites.

“I should probably head over there sometime,” Mila commented, moving on to the next arrangement. “I’m in dire need of good caffeine.”

“And a place to meet up with Sara,” Georgi muttered and Mila stuck her tongue out at him

“Hey, don’t criticize _me_ on my love life,” she said. “Not when you—” She broke off as the door swung open and Yakov walked in.

“Hey, Yakov!” Mila said cheerily. “We came into work early to unpack.”

Yakov nodded in approval, making his way towards the back room. He paused when he reached Viktor however. “What exactly,” he said. “Are you doing?”

“Um,” Viktor said, looking down at his nearly-finished flower crown for Yuri. “Flower crowns?”

“As long as you don’t use red for Mila,” Yakov said. “It’ll blend into her hair.” He walked away and Viktor grinned.

“Anyway,” Viktor said. “The coffee shop’s great, no question. Best of all, one of the baristas is really cute with the most _gorgeous_ brown eyes and the _cutest_ glasses.”

“Don’t say it,” Yuri warned.

“I think I’m in love,” Viktor said and Yuri groaned.

* * *

Yuuko’s birthday was coming up and Yuuri had no idea what to give her. As he prepared coffee for a customer, he turned to Leo helplessly. “I don’t know what to do,” he confessed. “I’m a terrible friend.”

“Just give her something small,” Leo suggested. “She’ll understand.”

Yuuri sighed. “I don’t know.” He squinted at the name Leo had scrawled on the cup and read out, “Coffee for...Sala?”

A girl with dark hair, walked up, looking annoyed. “That’s room in Italian,” she said. “It’s _Sara_.”

“Knew I heard that wrong,” Leo muttered. “It’s room in Spanish, too.”

Yuuri just sighed and handed her the coffee. “Sorry about that,” he apologized.

Sara waved her hand, although she still looked exasperated. “It’s okay. I get that more often than you’d think,” she said, hesitating before adding, “I couldn’t help but overhear that you need a present for your friend. There’s a new flower shop across the street that’s great, my friend works there.” She smiled. “They have nearly every flower there. You should check it out.”

“I will,” Yuuri promised. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

“Thanks for the coffee,” Sara replied, waving and heading out the door.

“That’s a good idea,” Leo said, once she left. “Yuuko likes flowers, right?”

“Right,” Yuuri said, thinking it over. “Flowers are a nice gift.” He turned to Leo. “Guang-hong likes flowers too,” he commented and, for the second time that week, had a handful of coffee beans thrown at him.

* * *

Yuuri ended up heading over to the flower shop across the street. He had never gone since he never had a reason to (and, as Sara had said, it was new). It was fairly small and he carefully pushed open the door, hoping it was open.

The smell of flowers was starkly different from that of coffee, a faint sort of sweetness and a cleanliness that the coffee shop lacked. 

It was brightly lit and bursting with colors, flowers of all different types greeting him from every corner of the shop. It was incredibly peaceful compared to the bustle of a coffee shop. That is, until—

“Hello! Need any help? We have so many flowers as you can see, as well as succulents and pothos, we do arrangements and—hey aren’t you that barista from across the street?”

Yuuri stared, open-mouthed at that incredibly attractive customer from a few days ago, faintly aware of a blush rising to his cheeks. “Um...yes,” he said. “You were a customer.” It was definitely him, with the same hair and the same eyes and the nametag of _Viktor Nikiforov_. And then, because he had nothing else to say, added, “I’m Yuuri. Katsuki Yuuri.”

“It’s great to see you again, Yuuri,” Viktor replied, with another award-winning smile. “Now, what were you looking for?”

“Flowers,” Yuuri said, then immediately regretted that, because he was very obviously _in a flower shop_. “She likes peonies,” he amended.

“Peonies…” Viktor murmured, eyes raking the shop. “We have those…” He smiled at Yuuri and Yuuri’s brain short-circuited again. “They’re in the back. Do you want a bouquet?”

“Um…” Yuuri said, even though it was an incredibly simple yes-no question. “Yes.”

“Great!” Viktor replied, eyes lingering a second too long on Yuuri before whirling around to go off to the back room.

When he returned, he had a bouquet of peonies in hand and Yuuri followed him to the register, a little counter overflowing with potted plants. “And that’ll be 45 dollars,” Viktor said.

Yuuri nodded, paying Viktor. It was expensive, but he wasn’t very surprised, knowing how high prices could be for a single rose.

“Thank you for your service,” Viktor said, handing the peonies to him. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Who are they for?”

“A friend,” Yuuri answered. “It’s her birthday.” 

“That’s so nice of you,” Viktor said. He hesitated, before taking a dark red rosebud and handing it to Yuuri. “It’s free,” he said, grinning. “On me.”

“Oh,” Yuuri said, taking it and blushing. “Thank you.”

Viktor waved his hand. “It’s not a problem. I hope I’ll be seeing you around some more?”

Yuuri shrugged, still smiling. “We’ll see.”

“I’ll take that,” Viktor said and Yuuri waved at him, before leaving the shop. He stood outside the flower shop for a while, staring down at the rose with the most ridiculous grin on his face.

If he didn’t have a crush before, he most certainly did now.

* * *

“Katsuki Yuuri,” Chris repeated as Viktor fitted a flower crown on his head. “I think I’ve heard of him before. Doesn’t he work at that coffee shop.”

“He does,” Viktor confirmed, stepping back to admire his handiwork. "Oh, I like this one. Red suits you.”

“Mmmhmm,” Chris said. He probably already knew that. “How much do I owe you?”

“Fifteen dollars,” Viktor said, taking the money from Chris. “Friends get a discount.”

“Do they?” Chris asked and Viktor smiled. “In my book,” he said. “Don’t tell Yakov.”

“Not planning to,” Chris assured him. “Thanks for the flower crown.” He pointed to his phone and winked. “And keep me updated on cute coffee boy.”

“Will do,” Viktor promised, watching him leave.

“Ugh, you’re still going on about that guy?” Yuri muttered. “Get over it already.”

“Need any help with that?” Viktor asked mildly, watching as Yuri struggled to carry a potted lemon tree.

“I’ve got it,” Yuri said with gritted teeth.

“You sure about that?” Viktor said, leaning forward on the counter. “It’s our biggest one and you don’t want to damage those lemons…”

“Fine,” Yuri relented, giving up and stepping away. “Only because I don’t want to damage the lemons.”

“Only for the lemons,” Viktor repeated, carrying the tree and setting down at the side of the shop.

“As I was saying,” Yuri said, crossing his arms. “I think you should forget about Yuuri. He’s just another random crush.”

“You’re just jealous that I like this Yuuri more than you,” Viktor said idly.

Yuri spluttered. “I am _not_! I’m just sick of hearing you _pine_ over him. Everyone is!” 

“I feel like this would be more threatening if you didn’t have a pink flower crown on,” Viktor said and Yuri’s hands flew up to touch the flower crown on his head, but he didn’t take it off.

“I like it!” he spat and stormed out to the backroom.

“Well, I’m going on my break,” Viktor called after him. “Georgi will be here to take my place.”

There was a crashing sound, presumably Yuri kicking over an empty pot. Yakov was going to kill him for that later. “He’s even worse than you!” Yuri yelled. “His girlfriend broke up with him a month ago and he’s still not over her!” And then: “If you’re going to that coffee shop, pick me up a muffin!” 

Viktor simply smiled, shooting a text to Georgi to remind him about his shift, then walking out of the flower shop.

He walked back to his apartment to pick up Makkachin, smiling as the dog nearly knocked him over in excitement. His apartment was packed with flowers, nestled in practically every corner of the room. Viktor had taken to bringing home whatever flowers were on the cusp of wilting or ones that were damaged before they were thrown out and he was beginning to think that he was running out of space.

The two walked, side by side, in the city, Makkachin occasionally rushing ahead to check out whatever caught his attention.

“Let’s go get Yuri that muffin,” Viktor said to Makkachin, promising himself it _was_ for a muffin and _not_ for some cute barista.

Leaving Makkachin to wait outside the cafe, He swung open the shop, scanning to see if Yuuri was working. He was, helping another customer, but the other barista pushed him away, grinning at him and swiftly taking charge of the customer.

“Phichit!” Yuuri protested. “Why did you—” He trailed off, seeing Viktor, and settled for shooting a glare at Phichit before focusing his attention on Viktor.

“Hi, Viktor,” Yuuri said with a tiny smile and the most _adorable_ blush on his face. “What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have a chocolate-chip muffin.” He was pretty sure that was the kind Yuri liked. 

Yuuri nodded, moving to prepare his order. Viktor moved away to lean against the wall as he waited for his order, casting his gaze anywhere but Yuuri, not wanting to be caught staring.

“Order for Viktor.” Viktor automatically gave a smile at the sound of Yuuri’s voice, walking over to him. Seeing that Yuuri held a coffee in his hands, he blinked. “I didn’t order that,” he said.

“I know,” Yuuri said, flushing slightly. “I, um, remembered your order for last time. It’s free. On the house. For the, um, rose you gave me.”

Viktor’s smile widened at that, and he took it. “Thank you, Yuuri,” he said. “And, please, feel free to drop by for a free flower any time you’d like. Although,” he added, looking Yuuri up and down. “I doubt any of them in my shop could match your beauty.”

He gave a fluttery wave, holding the coffee in one hand, the muffin in another and walked outside. And if a stupid, lovestruck smile stayed on his face for the rest of the walk home, well, only Makkachin could vouch for that.

* * *

“He was flirting with you today,” Guang-hong said, looking back and forth from Leo to Phichit. “Right?”

“Definitely,” Phichit agreed. The four were at Phichit’s house, and Yuuri thought it’d just be one of their everyday hangouts, but it tunneled into what happened that week, and, inevitably, Yuuri’s love life. “He’s head over heels. I mean,” He turned to look at Yuuri. “Every time you visit that flower shop, he gives you a free flower." Yuuri couldn’t argue with that. He had started coming to the flower shop more often, and Viktor the coffee shop, and had began to talk with him more (and giving him one too many free coffees). "It's adorable."

“And hilarious,” Leo muttered. “Seeing you trying to make excuses to buy flowers.”

“He doesn’t like me,” Yuuri said evasively, shifting under their attention. “He’s just nice.”

Phichit threw Leo and Guang-hong an _are-you-kidding-me???_ look. “Am I hearing this correctly?” he asked. “Did Katsuki Yuuri seriously say Viktor Nikiforov isn’t in love with him? This is even worse than the time JJ came into the cafe and asked for a mocha frappucino.” 

“Yuuri,” Guang-hong said. “Literally every agrees that he likes you. Even Seung-gil, and he acts like he has no emotion at all.”

“I don’t know,” Yuuri said uncertainly.

“You get roses,” Phichit said flatly. “For. _Free_.”

Yuuri’s eyes landed on a vase of flowers, bursting with colors, all courtesy of Viktor, who had presented each stem with a warm smile and a compliment, telling him to look up their meanings, which were all a deviation of “love”.

“Well,” Yuuri said. “Maybe he likes me a little."

* * *

It was a quiet day at the flower shop. Until—

“But maybe he doesn’t like me?”

“Oh my god,” Mila groaned, thunking her head on the counter.

“Please tell me he’s not going off again,” Yuri muttered, placing a primrose in a bouquet for Otabek. Whether Otabek had ordered that or Yuri was giving it to him was unclear.

“He is,” Mila confirmed.

“But maybe he doesn’t!” Viktor said, throwing his hands in the air. “How am I supposed to know!”

“Viktor,” Yuri said. “He gives you free coffee. _Every. Single. Time_. He likes you, okay?” 

“So maybe he does like me,” Viktor responded. “But what if he doesn’t know _I_ like _him_?’

“You are literally the most blatant person when it comes to flirting,” Mila replied. “Believe me, he knows. He’s probably just shy.” She sighed. “ _Please_ just ask him out already. You are literally killing me every time you talk about him.”

“I could ask him out,” Viktor mused. “Or I could wait.”

“Free coffee,” Mila said. “Go for it.”

Viktor chewed his lip, thinking for a moment, but, hey, his life was built on impulse. “I’m doing it,” he decided, grabbing a bouquet of flowers. “Bye!” he called out, racing out of the shop.

“Hey!” Yuri yelled. “Your shift isn’t over!”

* * *

Yuuri was walking through the city when he, quite gracefully, ran into Viktor.

“I’m so sorry!” Viktor gasped, grabbing his arm so he didn’t fall. “I didn’t see you.”

“It’s fine,” Yuuri said, readjusting his glasses. It felt strange to see Viktor outside the coffee or flower shop, and he couldn’t think of something to say.

Viktor, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem. “You’re not in the coffee shop,” he noted. “A day off?”

Yuuri nodded. His eyes fell on a bouquet in Viktor’s arms. “Is that for someone?”

“Yeah,” Viktor said, looking suddenly nervous. Since when did Viktor get _nervous_? “I picked this bouquet on random, but it’s actually kind of fitting for the person I’m giving it too.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said, not sure where Viktor was headed.

“A yellow tulip for hopelessly in love. A hibiscus for beauty. An orange rose for desire.” Viktor smiled softly. “All things I agree with.”

Yuuri didn’t respond, partly because he didn’t know how to, partly because he felt crushed. The bouquet was no doubt for someone else, for someone Viktor actually _liked_ , not him. “That person,” he said. “You must care about them a lot.”

Viktor laughed, and despite his churning stomach, Yuuri melted a little at the sound of it. “I do,” he replied affectionately. “Because the flowers are for you.” He handed them to Yuuri, who took them, shocked.

“For me?” he repeated. 

“Who else?” Viktor said with a smile. “I was hoping we could go on a date.”

“Definitely,” Yuuri said, moving by impulse to take Viktor’s hand. He smiled up at Viktor who grinned back. “Let’s start with a cup of coffee.”


End file.
